


Like Fire

by wtfsteph



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, Sexual Content, Slightly aged-up, sin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-18
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-21 11:02:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6049201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wtfsteph/pseuds/wtfsteph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette was in love with Adrien Agreste. She was positive of that, but when she has a not so innocent dream about Chat Noir, she begins to struggle with her growing feelings for her partner and whether or not Adrien is the one she's meant to be with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well I have officially jumped into the trashcan of the ML fandom. I'm not sure where I want to take this exactly, but I do know it is going to be S I N F U L .  
> Anyways, hope you guys enjoy!

_Heat._

_Everything was heat._

_The temperature of the room rose as Marinette was shoved against a wall by a black clad figure. She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a moan as his hot mouth pressed against hers, unconsciously pulling him closer as their tongues collide. Marinette could feel her heart beat against her chest as they explored each other's mouths._

_The figure lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around his torso, but somehow it still didn’t feel close enough._

_"Closer." she begged, wrapping her legs tighter around him. He grunted as something hard brushed against her thigh and Marinette let out a gasp._

_‘I feel like I’m on fire.’ She thought as the stranger’s lips separated from hers and trailed down her neck, his lips like fire on her skin. He reached her collarbone, bitting it. She whimpered at the new sensation that only intensified the heat building inside her. She began moving her body against him in an attempt to calm it, but it only ignited the flame more and she yelped out. He groaned against her neck._

_“Marinette,” the stranger whispered huskily against her skin “I want you.”_

_“I want you, too.” She struggled to catch her breath. The stranger lifted his head from his place at her collarbone and his green, lust-filled eyes made her catch her breath._

_“Chat. . .”_

Marinette jolted awake from the dream with a gasp. She covered her mouth with her hands in shock. There was an uncomfortable pressure between her thighs as she still felt the heat from the dream.

In an attempt to calm herself down, she kicked her blanket off of her and pressed her legs together.

_‘Did I just have a sexy dream about. . . Chat?’_

She let out a small squeak of realization as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to ignore the fact that her lower body was literally throbbing with arousal and that it was getting really difficult to breathe in her bedroom.

“Marinette?”

The girl jumped at the sound of the shrill voice beside her. She opened her eyes and, through the darkness of the room, found her kwami hovering in front of her. She forced out a smile as she attempted to slow her breathing and reached over, turning on a lamp beside her bed.

“Are you okay?” Tikki asked, concerned “You’re all red.”

“W-what? Y-yeah,” She stuttered “I must be catching a – c-cold or something.” Her burning body became increasingly uncomfortable as she attempted to act calm in front of Tikki.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

"Uhh, why do you ask?" Marinette hesitated.

"Well you were making noises in your sleep." Tikki explained "You sounded like you were hurt an-"

"OH MY GOD, TIKKI, STOP TALKING!" She buried her face in her hands to hide her embarrassment. Tikki tilted her head at her miraculous holder in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

Marinette groaned and lifted her red face, avoiding eye contact with the kwami. 

"Please just throw me in the tra-"

She stopped mid-sentence as her eyes fell on the wall opposite of her.

To add to the situation, multiple pictures of Adrien Agreste stared back at her, mockingly.

_‘No no no no no’_

She jumped up from her bed and rushed over to the wall, staring at Adrien’s face in complete shame before ripping the pictures of the wall and shoving them in a drawer. Out of sight.

“I don’t deserve to have him on my wall.” She muttered under her breath as she shoved the drawer shut and glared at it.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

At her question, Marinette lifted her gaze from the drawer and finally looked over at the kwami. “I’m fine, Tikki.”

“Then why did you take down Adrien’s pictures?”

“I just didn’t want them on my wall anymore.”

“And you had to do it now? At 3 am?”

“I-I just felt like it was time to take them down!” She laughed, nervously "Now's as good a time as any . . . "

The teenager returned to her bed and threw herself on it with a groan, shoving her face in her pillow and screaming.

“It wasn't a nightmare. . .” her voice was muffled.

"What?'

"My dream."

“Then what was it?”

“A really really good dream.” She admitted and sat up, pulling her legs to her chest. “But I shouldn't have enjoyed it.”

_Not this much. . ._

“What are you talking about?” Tikki asked, confused.

“It’s just really embarrassing.” Marinette bit her lip and looked down in an attempt to hide her blush. The room was quiet for a moment as Marinette lost herself in thought.

“You can tell me.” Tikki interrupted her thoughts as she appeared in front of the girl.

“It’s just. . .” Marinette paused, too embarrassed to continue “really late, I should get back to bed!”

"Mari-"

"Goodnight, Tikki!"

Marinette reached over, turned the lamp back off, and laid back down in her bed, pulling the covers over her face to hide from the kwami. Tikki gave the teenager an unconvinced look before shrugging her shoulders and landing on the pillow beside Marinette, returning to sleep.

After a few minutes, Marinette lowered the blanket from her face and looked up. A glimpse of the sky could be seen through the door above her bed. The distressed girl sighed as she stared up at the night sky. 

 _‘Why do I feel like this?’_ Her heart began pounding as her thoughts returned back to the dream. _‘He’s just my stupid partner, I shouldn't get this worked up.’_

_‘Besides, I like Adrien.’_

_'Chat's just a friend'_

_'He makes terrible puns.'_

_'Adrien is so much better'_

_‘I feel nothing for Chat Noir.’_

_‘. . . right?’_

She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to block out the thoughts. She absolutely, 100%, felt NOTHING for her partner. That would have been insane. He was just a friend. It didn’t matter that the dream was _really nice._ It didn't matter that now she was suddenly thinking about how the hero _was_  kind of attractive. And It also, definitely, did not matter that remembering the look he gave her in that dream made her kind of wish that it was real.

 _'Marinette, stop!'_ She hit her hand to her forehead in an attempt to get the thoughts out of her head.

It didn’t matter that she had a wet dream about Chat Noir instead of the love of her life. She was a teenager, after all, and it was common to have dreams like that. It's not like she _chose_ to dream about Chat. She couldn't control her hormones.

Her heart belonged to Adrien.

Not Chat. Not Chat. _Not. Chat._

 

* * *

 

Patrol the next night was hell.

Not literally.

Because it was freezing.

Ladybug shivered as the two companions jumped across the buildings lining the city. She grumbled at the lack of warmth in her suit and was already in a bad mood from not getting any sleep. Not to mention, she couldn't concentrate because her thoughts keep returning to a the dream.

Chat Noir's flirting wasn't helping, either.

“It’s kind of cold out, My lady.” Chat Noir turned toward her, smirking, as they stopped on the roof of a building. “You should let me warm you up.”

Ladybug, who was already struggling to keep her thoughts pure, went wide eyed at the thought of ' _warming up_ ' with him and suddenly all she could think about was the image of him holding her against a wall.

She quickly turned away from the cat to hide her blush, pretending to scope out the other direction from the roof “D-don’t be silly, Kitty, I’m fine!”

“But it’s paws-itively freezing out, will you at least warm _me_ up?” He walked over to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. She bit her lip and tried to pretend that his touch didn't burn through her suit. 

“No, I won’t!” 

“You wound me, Ladybug.” 

She glared at him and pushed his hand off of her shoulder. “Let’s just go finish patrol so I can go home.”

“Why in such a hurry to get away from me?”

“I-I’m not, I just have. . .a bunch of homework that's due tomorrow!” She lied and crossed her arms

"But, tomorrows Sunday." 

"Uh, right" She struggled for an excuse. "Well I have other stuff to do! You know, I do have a life outside of Ladybug."

“And I would love to know about all about that, bugaboo.”

"I'm sure you would, Chaton." she smirked, attempting to look calm. "Now, back to work."

Chat Noir smiled back, turned around, and made his way to the other side of the roof. Ladybug took a deep breath and followed after him, making sure to keep a far enough distance away.

After a few minutes of hopping between rooftops, Ladybugs thoughts began to wander.

She had attempted to shove the dream out of her thoughts all day.

It was meaningless, but even then, she couldn't get herself to forget about it, which is what bothered her the most. The thought of Chat Noir kissing her _like that_ should not have affected her this much. Adrien, yes, but Chat, no.

She spared a glance to her companion as he basically strutted in front of her in that tight suit.

_‘He has a nice ass.’_

_'Wait, what?'_ She suddenly stopped mid-step and let out an 'eep.' Chat turned around at the sound and gave Ladybug a look of confusion as she looked back at him, shocked and completely red in the face.

“You okay?”

He began to make his way over to her, but she started taking steps backwards. It's not long before she reached the edge of the building.

“I’m fi-fine!” She lied  _'I just complemented your ass, of course i'm not fine!'_

“But your face is all red” He suddenly grinned “Are you sure you aren’t cold? My offer still stands, you know.”

"Uh-uhm" She stuttered as she got caught in those intense, green eyes. ' _How did I not notice how green they were before? What is happening_?'

"What's wrong, my lady, cat got your tongue?"

“Whaaat?” Ladybug quickly looked away from him and his stupid green eyes. She needed to get out of there. fast. "Look, it's getting late, I need to go! Bye kitty!"

She grabbed her yoyo and was swinging off the building before Chat got a chance to reply.  


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!~

It was no secret that Marinette had been in love with Adrien Agreste ever since he arrived at Collège Françoise Dupont a few years before. Everyone knew about her obsession. Well, everyone, except Adrien. The boy was kind of dense and Marinette could never form a sentence around him long enough to confess.

It didn’t bother her, though. She was satisfied with admiring him from a far because she knew that he was the only one for her.

She was confident that he would pick her one day, but until then, she would wait. 

Except, for the first time, as she stared at her now blank walls in the dark, she began to doubt that.

And all it took was black leather and cat ears.  

She had woken up in a sweat just a few minutes before to the same warmth that had pulsed through her body the previous night thanks to another dream.

It was as hot and intense as the last one. Their bodies had pressed together as she straddled him while sitting on top of the bakery’s counter, of all places.

She shivered, silently vowing to never touch, or look at that counter again. Helping her parents at this point was simply out of the question. There was no way she was going to serve innocent customers macrons in the same place her dream self and Chat rubbed up against each other in a way that was not innocent in the slightest.

The girl cringed at the thought and decided that she needed some air.

Marinette sighed at her Adrien-less wall as she slipped out of the bed, pulling her cover around her shoulders. She made her way up to her balcony and when she opened to latch, the frigid Parisian air blew against her face, which helped cool down her body, slightly, but her heart still felt like it’s about to burst.

She didn't know how much more of this she could take. There was no way that she could keep dreaming every night about her _fighting companion_ taking away her innocence and then act casually around him the next day.

To be honest, She was beginning to become sleep deprived and frankly, she did not want to constantly think about Chat Noir ravishing her.

A small thought in the back of her mind told her otherwise.

She slouched in a bench that sat against the wall of her house and pulled the cover tight around her. Looking up at the sky, she guessed that it was early morning. The sun had not risen yet, but the rays were beginning to peep out over the horizon.

She watched the sunrise, her loose hair blowing in the breeze. 

The quiet morning calmed her down, slightly, but her mind was still racing so there was no way she was going back to sleep anytime soon. 

‘ _This has to stop’_ She thought, defeated. After having a dream like that two nights in a row, however, it was obvious her hormonal brain did not plan on giving up any time soon. ‘ _Why Chat, though?’_

She pondered the thought and it didn't make sense. Maybe in a world without Adrien, she would have considered him. The two do boys did share a few physical similarities, after all, and she did care for Chat, but Adrien was sweet and gave her butterflies. While Chat Noir was flirty and cocky and . . . _his puns,_ but he did have his perks. Besides, he cared for her, well Ladybug, at least.

She shook her head and pushed the thought away. This was not helping. Either way, she definitely did not have feelings for Chat.

‘ _Stop lying to yourself_ ’

She grumbled and buried her head in her hands. Why did this have to happen to her? She was perfectly fine being innocently in love with Adrien, but no, her sixteen-year-old mind just had to go and throw the cat into the mix. And for _some reason_ , this cat was currently making her more sexually frustrated than the boy she had been after for years.

So why wasn't she having sexy dreams about Adrien? It would definitely have made this situation a hundred times less confusing. He was nothing short of attractive and she would gladly allow him to claim her innocence on top of the bakery's counter, dream or not. _Like that would happen._

Her thoughts returned to her companion, which caused her heart to skip a beat. She let out a huff as she glared down at her chest and pointed her finger at the location of her heart. "Get out right now Chat Noir." she warned "You're not welcome here!"

"Claw-fully early to be yelling at yourself, Princess."

She jumped at the voice with a squeak and quickly looked up. As soon as she saw the pointy black ears and that smug smile, she went wide-eyed and quickly pulled the blanket over her face to hide her embarrassment.

‘ _Seriously? This is literally THE WORST possible time’_

“Go away.” Her voice was muffled through the material.

“Is that any way to greet a guest?”

“Intruder.” She corrected.

She could hear him chuckle as he took a seat beside her on the bench. He pulled the blanket off of her face and smirked when she glared at him.

“Are you hiding from me?” 

She squinted her eyes at the sudden brightness.

When her eyes finally adjusted, she suddenly realized how close he was to her. So she scooted as far to the edge of the chair as possible.

“O-Of c-course not! I’m just. . .” She blinked blankly. “cold.” 

Her burning face said otherwise.

“Need someone to warm you up? A cat, purr-haps?”

 _‘Not this again._ ’ 

“No, no, I’m fine!” she made a show of pulling the blanket around herself tighter and gave him a thumbs up.

He laughed and she noticed him shiver, slightly. The leather suit was probably as thin as her own spandex and the next sentence was out before she could stop herself. “. . . Are you cold?”

“Fureezing.”

Marinette hesitated before opening up the blankets. The boy looked almost shocked as she scooted closer to him and wrapped the other half around his shoulder.  

“Better?”

“Much.”

His arm brushed hers and Marinette let out a nervous cough to hide her quick inhale. She scooted away, slightly.

“So what brings you here?” She asked breaking the brief silence.

“To see you, of course, princess.”

“This early?”

“To be honest, I was looking for Ladybug. She patrols this area some mornings” He confessed “You were just a nice surprise.”

"I'm honored, kitty." she laughed 

He gave her a bright smile, which she returned, and turned to look forward at the rising sun.  

Marinette took the opportunity to sneak a look at the boy. He had a small smile on his face and his messy, blonde hair waved gently in the breeze. The part of his cheeks not hidden by the black mask were rosy from the cold. It made her want to reach up and touch them. 

She didn't realize that she was openly staring until he turned towards her with an eyebrow raised.

“Enjoy the view?”

"N-no," she quickly lied. "You just have. . . an eyelash!"

"Then get it off."

She reached up and pretended to wipe off the nonexistent eyelash before looking away. "T-there."

"Thanks, princess." 

She could feel his stare as she avoided eye contact 

"Your hair looks nice down." he commented and reached out to touch her hair.

It felt way too intimate for her liking.

Marinette looked up at him, about to defend her signature pony tails, but her breath caught in her throat.

_His eyes._

He's was looking straight at her, smiling, and the vibrant green orbs were almost glowing as the sun shone in them. Had they always looked like this? They were hypnotic and she found herself getting lost in them.

He was intolerably close and she suddenly got the unbearable urge to close the distance.

_‘Maybe if I just tried it once. . .’_

Marinette bit her lip and sat up straight, turning to fully face him.  

 Chat’s smile turned into a look of confusion.

“Marinette, what are yo-“

“Trying something.”

She looked at him, eyes filling with lust, and shakily raised her hand to cup his cheek. His eyes widened and his face grew red at her sudden forwardness.

“Just” she whispered, moving closer. “once.”

Chat sucked in a breath as she licked her lips and leaned in.

“Marinette. . . “He breathed, dazed. She paused inches away from his and, for a moment, they stared at each other. Just green and blue and racing hearts, until Marinette gently pulled his face to hers.

She felt Chat stiffen as their lips connected, which made her begin to pull away, but then he whined and his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer.

Marinette laughed against his lips and wrapped her own arms around his neck. She lost track of any sense of time as his lips pushed against hers.

When their position grew uncomfortable, she slowly leaned herself backwards on the bench, pulling him on top her. The blanket fell to the ground, forgotten.

The innocent kiss quickly deepened and it felt  _way too good._

She gasped against his mouth when she felt his tongue caressing her bottom lip. He took the opportunity, their tongues collided, and suddenly they were exploring each other’s mouths. He tasted sweet and vaguely of the croissants from the bakery. She's suddenly reminded of her dream and the heat in the pit of her stomach began building up.

She unconsciously pulled him closer to her.

Marinette had never felt so _alive._

But then his miraculous beeped and it ended way too soon.

The two teenagers quickly broke apart at the sound as if they had been burned by each other. Faces red and lips swollen, they stared at each other for a moment, the only sound in the early morning being their heavy breathing. After a while, Chat Noir spoke up.

“What just happened?”

Marinette attempted to calm her breathing. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?” He stared at her, unconvinced.

“Sure.” She mumbled, suddenly shy. _‘liar.’_

His ring lets out another beep.

“Marinette-“

“You should probably go.” She interrupted and pointed at his ring.

“But-" he shook his head "you’re right, later Princess.”

Marinette looked up at him as he stands up in front of her. All she could manage was a nod as she forced a look at his flushed face. He gave her a small, uncertain, smile and made his way over the the balcony railing. She watched as he jumps over it and then from building to building until he was gone from sight.

She subconsciously brought her hand up to her lips, allowing herself to remember the kiss.

_‘I just kissed Chat Noir.’_

It was a mistake.

_‘he kissed me back.’_

She traced her swollen lips. It shouldn’t had happened, but she would have been lying to herself if she said that she didn’t enjoy it. It was sweeter and way less sinful than the kisses that plagued her dreams, but it still left her breathless and she found herself wanting more.

Suddenly Adrien was not the blonde that plagues her thoughts and Marinette had never been so confused in her life.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm, so a lot more people are liking this than I expected and i'm just like it's not??? that??? good??????  
> For real, though, thank you guys! I really appreciate that you actually like this.

Marinette was not one to turn down a challenge. She was a superhero, after all, but as soon as she stepped through the threshold of the classroom door and saw Adrien, she decided that there was a first time for everything.

Because upon entering the classroom, Adrien’s eyes met hers, which under normal circumstances would have been a dream, but then he quickly looked away, face turning red.

 _‘He knows’_ she thought, despite the fact that he would have had to be on top of one of the surrounding rooftops to see, which was very doubtful.

Marinette, who was still blocking the doorway, made a one-eighty and was about to find a nice trash can to hide in, when she bumped into Alya.

“Hey girl, I’ve been texting you all morning!” Her best friend glared “Why haven’t you answered?”

“I’m Sorry, Alya” she apologized, giving up on her escape, “I haven’t even looked at my phone today.”

Alya Frowned and the two girls made their way to their seats behind Nino and Adrien.

Marinette glanced at the blonde, who was looking intently at the table, as she passed by.

 _‘He knows’_ she thought again as she began to low key freak out.

“Hey Nino,” Alya greeted before pointing to Adrien “What’s wrong with him?”

“My man was out partying hard last night.” He playfully punched the other boy

“I wasn’t partying,” Adrien looked up from his desk, frowning “It was a modeling thing that ended late.”

Marinette let out a breath of relief. ‘ _He’s just tired_.’

She had just overreacted. Of course he hadn't seen. There was nothing to worry about.

Except the fact that she still kissed Chat Noir.

That still happened.

She groaned at the unwelcome thought and let her head fall to the table, banging it accidentally on the wood.

“Whoa, Mari, you alright?” Alya looked over in alarm.

Despite her throbbing forehead, she let out a muffled “I’m Fine.”

Which was a lie because she was definitely not fine.

She had spent most of her Sunday telling herself that she felt nothing when she kissed Chat Noir, but after hours of trying to forget the kiss and pretending that it didn’t happen, she decided that she did, in fact, feel something. A lot, actually. In fact, she wouldn’t have minded if he kissed again.

After that revelation, she spent the rest of her Sunday staring hopelessly at a picture of Adrien, who despite current events, she was still in love with.

The girl was a mess.  

“Marinette?” Alya’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She raised her head slightly to look at her, blankly

“Yes?”

“Nino and _Adrien_ here just agreed to come with us to the movies this weekend.”

“That’s nice.” Marinette replied and laid her head back on the table, returning to her thoughts before the words sunk in.

Wait.

She jerked her head up from the table in realization. “WHAT!?”

 

* * *

 

 “Bye Bye petit papillon.”

Ladybug smiled as the white butterfly flew off into the distance, all of the damage from the battle disappearing in a swarm of red. She watched as the last bit of magic faded away and, as always, it was like nothing ever happened.

_If only she could “Miraculous Ladybug” the past few days._

She glanced over at Chat Noir. He was talking to the akuma victim, a young boy around nine or ten. The boy, an obvious fan, enthusiastically threw his arms around the hero and thanked him. Chat’s eyes widened slightly at the sudden hug, but let out a laugh and returned it. Ladybug smiled softly at the exchange, at how sweet her partner could be when he wasn’t flirting, making puns, or _aggressively kissing her._

She unconsciously glanced at Chat’s lips at the thought until she caught herself and mentally kicked the thought out of her head. She had managed to shove the events of the past few days to the back of her thoughts during the akuma attack, but now that the fight was over, the memories came back full force.

And now she really wanted his lips on hers again and it was making her so mad.

With a groan, she slumped down against the the brick wall of the small alley where their fight had taken place. She pulled her knees to her chest and laid her head on them, closing her eyes.

She looked like a troubled, teenage girl, not the iconic superhero that went around saving paris. Maybe it was her lack of sleep, but at that moment, she could have care less of how un-heroic she looked in the position. Keeping up her persona was the least of her worries. Especially when one of her biggest worries was standing a few feet away in tight leather.

Her earrings made a beep, but she made no move to get up.

Chat Noir turned toward her at the noise, bid farewells to the boy, and made his way over to where she was sitting. He crouched in front of her.

“You okay, my lady?” She raised her head at his voice and opened her eyes, making contact with his own. Her face flushed when she realized how close he was to her and she quickly broke the eye contact and looked down at her hands, clasping them together to keep from her sudden urge of grabbing him and pulling his mouth to hers. He asked again “Ladybug, you _feline_ okay?”

A few moments passed and she still hadn’t answered him. His joking demeanor melted into one of concern. His brows arched and he opened his mouth to speak when she sighed and reluctantly raised her eyes to meet his before whispering a lie she had been telling a lot lately. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t seem fine.” He replied, seeing through her. “I just made a terrible pun”

“and?”

“You didn’t complain about it!” He put a gloved hand to her forehead. She peeked up at him, He was too close. “Are you hurt? Sick? Do you need me to-“

“Chat, I’m fine!” She repeated, shying away from his hand, her forehead warm from the contact. “I’m just. . . really tired.”

“Purrhaps” He winked at her, concern disappearing “you should stop thinking about me so much at night and get some sleep.”

Ladybug laughed and was about to comment on his awful pun before a thought popped up.

_‘did he just flirt with me?’_

The concept was nothing unusual. He flirted with Ladybug all the time. It was his thing, but he also had his tongue down Marinette’s throat just yesterday morning. _Marinettes._ Not Ladybugs. And now he was flirting with the latter.

It shouldn’t have bothered her. Ladybug and Marinette were the same person, but he didn’t know that. As far as Chat Noir knew, the two were completely different people and even though he had that moment with Marinette, he did kiss her back after all, how could he just go back pursuing Ladybug the next day?

Did Marinette really have that little of an effect on him?

Her heart sunk a little, but she managed a smile and joked. “Heh, you caught me. You’re all I can think about recently, _Chaton_.”

“I see that as an accomplishment, my lady.” He grinned at her, at Ladybug, and picked up her hand to kiss it.

She immediately pulled it away, much to his displeasure, and faked a smile back at the boy. It was unusually quiet for a moment between the two heroes until Ladybug’s earrings let out a final beep that reverberated off the alley walls. She silently thanked Tikki for the escape.

Chat rose to his feet, offering Ladybug a hand. She stared at it, but then hesitantly grasped it with her own.

“See you later for patrol?” she asked, as he pulled her to her feet, in an attempt to sound casual. She just wanted to run away.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Bugaboo.” He squeezed her hand before she quickly pulled away. She turned to make her leave, uttering a goodbye, when he added “Get some sleep, okay?”

“I’ll try.” She replied pulling out her yoyo and disappearing to the roof as fast as she could.

Once she was far enough away, she released her transformation.

 _‘Why does this bother me so much?’_ she thought as she made her way home.

It was obvious Chat Noir liked Ladybug. He made no secret of it. Ladybug had been turning him down for years so why did she think that one kiss from Marinette would cause him to suddenly change his mind about Ladybug.

It’s not like the kiss changed how she felt about Adrien. Sure, she had finally accepted that she felt something for Chat, too, because of it, but she would still jump at any chance to be with Adrien. She had no right to be bitter about the situation.  

It still kind of hurt, though.

Did that make her a hypocrite?

“Tikki?” She suddenly asked her Kwami, who she knew could hear her from her bag, “Is it possible to be jealous of yourself?”

 

* * *

 

 She had to know how Chat Noir felt about Marinette.

The idea that he could just brush off what happened irritated her throughout the afternoon and patrol that night.

 So she was thankful when he suggested that they take a break.

Ladybug played with her hands, nervously, as the duo sat on one of the beams of the Eiffel tower. She glanced over at Chat, who was talking, but she was too focused on her own thoughts to pay attention to his words.

He suddenly turned to her, questioningly.

“My Lady?” He waved a hand in front of her face, snapping her out of her daze “Are you listening?”

“Uhhh. . . yes?” She lied

“Sure you are.” He laughed and bumped his shoulder into hers “You have been acting so weird, lately, I swear.”

“Yet you’re acting completely normal.” She muttered, bitterly. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to ask him about Marinette. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer anymore. . .

“What was that?”

“Nothing!” She huffed, crossing her arms as she glared at the lights that dotted Paris.

He turned to fully face her. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m tired.”

“That was your excuse earlier.”

“and it’s my excuse now.”

She glared at a plane passing in the distance.

“My lady?”

Maybe if she jumped far enough, she could jump on top of it. There was nothing here for her, anyways. Adrien barely acknowledged her existence and Chat Noir preferred her alter ego.

“Bugaboo?”

Maybe she should just give up on guys all together? Be alone and sexually frustrated for the rest of her life.

“Ladybug?”

She groaned as her grabbed her shoulder to shake it. 

“Hello? Lady-“

“HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT MARINETTE?” She blurted out, much louder than intended. She quickly covered her mouth and hesitantly ripped her eyes away from the plane to look at his reaction.

“Marinette?” His face scrunched in confusion at her outburst before his face went red. “Wait- You saw, didn’t you?”

‘ _At least I know he remembered it.’_

“Saw what?” She lied

“The-uh-nothing.” He turned away from her. “Why are you asking about Marinette?”

“Oh! I was just thinking about her.” She tried to sound casual “She’s cute, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, she is.”

Her heart skipped a beat. She did not expect him to agree with her. That was a good sign, right?

He thought for a moment before turning back to face her. “But my heart belongs to you, my lady.”

_There it was._

Though it was a verification of what she already knew, the comment was still kind of hurt.

So she closed her eyes and tried to hide the disappointment as she rose to her feet, putting on a blank face.

“I have to go.”

“What?” Chat Noir took a step toward her and outstretched his arm, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Ladybug, wait, what’s going on?“

“Chat Noir,” she shrugged his arm off her shoulder “if we are going to continue being partners” she looked straight into his green eyes “you have to stop this.”

“Stop what?”

“This. Us.” She gestured between them “We’re just friends. It’s been years. Let it go.”

She saw as the hurt began to spread on his face and immediately regretted her words.

It was out of character for her to act like that, but she couldn’t just let go of the fact that he could so easily shrug off Marinette for Ladybug.

Sure, she could have just accepted his affections as Ladybug. It would have made everything much easier, but she didn’t want to be with someone who obviously didn’t like who she was under the mask. She wasn’t about to live under Ladybug’s shadow.

If he didn't like Marinette then he didn't deserve Ladybug.

So she muttered a sorry and jumped off the ledge, leaving him alone.

And as she jumped rooftop to rooftop in the frigid night air, for the first time ever, she cursed her alter ego because, just once, she wanted someone to pick Marinette.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This :) Chapter :) was :) a :) bitch. :) to :) write :)  
> Bruh, I'm sorry it took so long, but I had mid terms this week and I literally lost the ability to think.  
> Anyways, thanks for the comments/kudos/bookmarks/etc. for the last chapter!
> 
> P.S. Adrien is a drama queen.

Adrien rested his head up against the large window in his room and sighed. He stared out into the Parisian night at the twinkling lights that dotted the view, trying his best to figure out what he did to end up in that position.  

A position, in which, the love of his life had permanently friend zoned him and the cute girl from his class kissed him.

All within the span of a few days.

Overall, His week had been _really weird,_ for lack of better words and, to be honest, he was so confused about everything that he couldn’t even come up with a pun to describe just how confused he was.

“Con-furr-sed? _”_ he questioned, banging his head on the glass, softly, in a hopeless attempt to make his thoughts clearer.

“That was terrible.” came a voice from behind him. Adrien turned around and scowled at the kwami, who resting on the white couch with a wedge of Camembert in his arms.

“No one asked you, Plagg!”

He groaned and placed his head back on the window, thoughtful.

For one, He was pretty sure Ladybug was avoiding him. He hadn’t seen her since the the Eiffel Tower a few nights ago. He had tried contacting her through his baton, but after a few failed attempts, he got the message. She did not want to see him.

‘ _We’re just friends’_ she had said, moments before she literally jumped off of the monument to get away from him.

He knew that.

He figured that out after the first year he spent pining for the girl. That didn’t stop him from trying, though. He remained hopeful and continued flirting with her in hopes that she would realize she was in love with him too. 

Of course, then she went and shoved a knife through his heart, uttering a _‘let it go’_ before leaving him to pick up his shattered dreams.

Adrien squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the memory.

“What a cat-astrophy!” He complained before raising his head from the window and opening his eyes. He turned behind him to look at the kwami. “better?”

 “No.” Plagg stated, simply.

“I know,” Adrien sighed again and walked over to the couch, plopping down beside him.

Plagg caressed the camembert before shoving the whole wedge in his mouth. Swallowing, he let out a satisfied noise and turned Adrien. “Hey, I’m out of cheese.”

“Seriously?” The blonde glared at him “Your lack of cheese is the least of my problems, right now.”

“Well if _you_ dedicated your life to cheese too,” The kwami replied “You wouldn’t be having these problems.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Adrien said, before sinking down on the couch, sulking.

“I don’t see what the issue is.” Plagg got up from the couch and floated around the room in search of any hidden camembert. “That one girl kissed you, so who cares if Ladybug doesn’t like you?”

That’s right, the _other_ problem that he had been trying really hard not to think about.

“Because I don’t like Marinette like that.” The way his heart sped up proved otherwise and He sunk lower on the couch, trying to hide himself away from the world. 

Plagg gave up his search, an idea popping into his head, and appeared above the boy. He raised a nonexistent eyebrow. “You sure did like her mouth.”

“Plagg!”

Adrien’s face heated up at the comment. He quickly grabbed a nearby pillow and shoved it to his face, hiding his flushed face from the traitor.

His voice was muffled when he replied “No, I didn’t”

“Sure, that’s why you kissed her back.” Plagg hovered down to Adrien’s ear “and climbed on top of her” he smirked and continued “And if I remember correctly, you thought-“

“Plagg!” Adrien yelled and threw the pillow at the kwami, missing “Fine! There’s some camembert in the kitchen, now go away!”

“That’s all I wanted.” Plagg smiled triumphantly and glided out of the room, leaving the poor boy to his thoughts.

Now alone, Adrien reluctantly allowed himself to think about Marinette and the situation that he had managed to avoid thinking about.

Out of the three years that he had known her, she never expressed any sort of romantic feelings towards him. As far as he knew, their relationship was completely platonic. Sure, she was cute, and he always had a small crush on the girl, but he was too in love with a certain hero to even consider the option. Besides, she rarely spoke to him as Adrien and when he visited her as Chat Noir, their conversations were short.

He was almost positive that she thought of him as a friend.  Apparently not, though, since she just _had_ to go and kiss him and make everything complicated.

The girl in question popped up in his mind.

_Her aqua blue eyes, the way her hair was down, Her lips on his, the feel of her body._

There was no denying it, he realized. 

“Oh God,” He groaned and threw his head in his hands, admitting to himself, “I did like it!”

“Duh,” Came Plaggs voice from behind him as he glided through the door with an entire wheel of camembert shoved in his arms.

“You don’t understand!” He whined “I _liked_ it.”

“I know, I was there.” The kwami replied “Well, technically”

“But Ladybug-“

“doesn’t like you” Plagg stated "Unless you already forgot that."

"Nope, I definitely did not forget." not that he didn't try to, of course.

“There’s nothing wrong with liking Marinette, you know.”

“I-“ he paused, raising his head “You’re right.”

And, for once, he was.

Why should Adrien waste his time chasing after a girl who would never feel the same way? Why should he resist his feelings for another girl just because she wasn’t the one he originally thought he would be with?

He was tired of chasing after nothing and he deserved to be loved by someone too.

Marinette had kissed _him_ and you don't kiss someone unless you feel something for them, right?

 

He needed to know. 

“Plagg!” He jumped up from his place on the couch and pointed his ring towards the kwami who was about to take a bite of the cheese. Plagg went wide eyed.

“But I just-“

“Claws out!”

 

* * *

 

 

Chat Noir stood outside the trapdoor that led to Marinette’s room. He had been standing there for the past ten minutes trying to work up the courage to knock, but he couldn’t get himself to do it.

It was late, and he secretly hoped that she was asleep, but the soft light that illuminated from the window showed that the girl was still up.

Eventually, he lowered his hand to the glass and tapped.

There was a crash and a soft _’ouch!_ ’ before Marinette hopped on her bed and appeared under the door. She looked up in confusion, but it turned to surprise when she saw his face.

 She opened the door.

“C-Chat Noir?” She asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Hey Princess” He greeted, ignoring her question and entering before Marinette had a chance to refuse.

He hopped off of her bed, onto the small space in front the the stairway, and turned around towards her.

He hadn’t noticed upon entering, but taking in her appearance, he noticed her attire, and his eyes widened. Any plan he had of talking with her suddenly became very difficult.

‘ _Oh no no no no’_

She was in in a tight, white tank top, which revealed a little bit of the skin on her stomach as she stretched up to close the trap door.

If that wasn’t bad enough, she also had on a pair of _really_ short shorts with, as if she was trying kill him, tiny black cats on them. He felt his gaze drifting to her backside and instantly shifted his eyes to a more innocent part of her body.

It didn't work. Even her hair, which flowed freely over her shoulders, brought up sinful thoughts and he resisted the urge step over to her and run his fingers through the dark blue strands.

‘ _Where is this coming from?_ ’ he tried to calm the heat that was building up by just looking at her. _‘Adrien, you are better than this._ ’

“Chat Noir?”

‘ _Pretty sure she hasn’t always looked this. . . alluring’_

“Chat?”

_'Those shorts aren't helping either.'_

“Chat!”

Oh no, now he was staring.

He blinked at the sound of his name. She was now standing in front of him, looking at him expectantly. Did she say something?

"Uhhh," He screamed internally trying to think of words, but he forgot how to speak. Trying to think of literally anything to say, he blurted out "Nice shorts!"

_'Good one, Adrien,'_

"What?" She went wide eyed and look down at her shorts as if she had forgotten what she had been wearing. She shook her head and returned her gaze to him, narrowing her eyebrows "Chat Noir!"

“Yes?” was all he could manage and he leaned against the wall, trying to act natural. 

“Why are you here?”

“I was just. . . around.” 

“Chat, seriously.”

“I am serious.”

“It’s past midnight.” She pointed out.

"I know."

"Why are you here?" She repeated, insisting on an answer. 

“Fine.” He exhaled, trying to clear his head, and absently took a step towards her. “I needed to see you.”

“It couldn’t wait until morning?” she took a step back, the back of her knees knocked against her bed frame.

“No.” He said, he couldn’t hold this off

"Why not?"

“Because It can't" He replied, "We need to talk."

“No, we don’t” she gave him a guarded look.

“Yes, we do.”

“Look, if this is about the kiss,” she replied, uncomfortably, and sidled around him to get to the stairway. She began stepping down them. “I’m sorry. It shouldn’t have happened.”

His heart dropped. He turned around and quickly followed after her down the steps, gently grabbing her arm when he reached her in the middle of the stairway “then why did you do it?”

She froze, back to him, and he saw her head lower.

“I need to know why.” He said again

“I-I don’t know.” She whispered “I didn’t mean to.”

She was lying.

“Paw-den me, princess, but how can you accidentally kiss someone?” She tried to continue down the stairs, but his grip on her arm remained.

“I was sleep deprived and I wasn’t thinking clearly” She turned back toward him, glaring “Why did you do it?”

“What?” the question caught him off guard.

“It’s a two way street, Chat Noir.” She pulled her arm out of his grasp and fully faced him, exasperated “Why did you kiss me back?”

“I don’t know” he lost all confidence, avoiding her gaze, slid down to sit on a white step.

Maybe it was an accident and his feelings were the ones to get screwed over again. He began to regret wondering in the first place.

“Honestly, I’m just really con-furr-sed” he admitted.

“Wow, that was bad.” She scoffed.

“Trust me,” he sighed “I know.”

They were silent for a moment as Chat Noir sat on a step and Marinette stood awkwardly a few steps below him. Finally, Marinette muttered, “D-did you like it?”

“What?” He looked up

“The kiss,” she bit her lip and lowered herself to sit on the step below him “did you at least like it?”

“Why do you think I’m so confused?” he laughed hesitantly.

“Don’t tell anyone,” Marinette let out a small smile, and blushing, she said “but, I liked it to.”

' _Wait_ ' he swiftly turned his head towards the girl ' _So it wasn't an accident?_ '

He held in a smile and, behind his mask, his vibrant green eyes met her sky blue ones and he knew he was fucked. 

Suddenly, he couldn't think clearly and all he knew, at that moment, was that she liked kissing him and he liked kissing her.

And he wanted to do it again.

“Since you liked it,” he said, in a trance as he stared into those oceans, “Purrhaps you would enjoy another?”

“I-what about Ladybug?” She looked at him nervously. 

An image of his companion popped into his head and he briefly felt guilt, but he ignored it because Ladybug didn't want him. 

And Marinette did. 

He leaned down and allowed his hand to her check to cup it and through this glove, felt the warmth of her face.

“What about her?” 

“I t-thought you-“

“She’s the last thing on my mind, princess” He purred, eyes full of lust. “You’re all I can think of right now.”

She let out a quiet ‘ _oh_ ’ and bit her lip.

“Will you let me kiss you?” He stroked her cheek “Just once?”

She looked at him, unsure.

“Okay,” she finally whispered. Shifting her position, she turned around to fully face him on the step and raised up to her knees so that they were face to face “Just once”

He felt himself moving in, as well, and he closed his eyes when he saw hers squeeze shut.

Putting a hand on her shoulder, he closed the distance.

Her lips felt as nice as the last time and he made sure to eagerly return the kiss.  He allowed himself to enjoy the touch of her warm lips softly on his. It was an innocent gesture, just a peck, but then they pulled away and he wanted more.

“Maybe one more time?” She breathed and he nodded urgently, as he moved in for more.

He felt her body shift beside him so that she was kneeling.

She reached over and grabbed the leather at his chest, clutching the material, desperately, in her fingers and pulled him to her. Their lips pressed against each other, sweetly, until she opened her mouth. He gladly accepted the invitation and, within seconds, he began exploring her delicious mouth.

It was even better the second time.

He took his free hand and tangled it in her dark blue hair while he moved the other, the one on her shoulder, and lowered it to her hip, resting on the sliver of skin where her tank top had raised up again.

He silently cursed his gloves as he touched her skin. He could feel the warmth through the material, but he wanted to feel it with his own fingers. He growled at the thought and pulled her even closer so that she was flush against him.

His tongue danced with hers as he tasted her. She tasted sweet and perfect and like _Marinette._ It delightful and he felt the room heat up as he savored her.

He broke away from her lips, much to her dismay. She complained and tried to pull him back to her, but he laughed breathlessly and lowered his mouth to her neck. He could feel her pulse under his lips as he touched the sensitive skin of her neck, and it made him feel alive. She let out a squeak at the connection and he smiled against her before sucking on the area. Her skin had a salty taste, but the flavor was just as enjoyable as her lips. He silently thanked the fact that the one area not covered by that Goddamn leather was his lips. If he couldn’t feel with his hands, he would do it with his mouth.

“Chat.” Marinette inhaled as he moved his lips down her neck and bit her collarbone, gently, before trailing his lips across it. His hands danced under the hem of her tank top, as his mouth made its way to her shoulder before kissing it, gently, and returning to her mouth.

“Marinette” He breathed against her lips and she moaned in response, scratching her hands against the leather of his costume and balling the material in her fists.

They savored each other for a little bit longer, but the eventual need for air was too much and they broke apart.

They were still only inches away from each other, but neither teenager made any motion to move because no one was running away this time.

Chat removed his hand that had been entangled in Marinette’s hair, but his other hand remained on her hips, his claws absently drawing circles on her skin.

“That was more than once, kitty.” She pointed out, struggling to catch her breath.

“I’m not really good at math.” He shrugged, breathing heavily, as well.

She glared playfully and one of the hands the rested on his chest punched him, lightly.

“I guess that’s a good thing.” She looked up, thoughtfully, before catching herself.

“Are you implying that you want more, princess?” He offered with a grin

“W-what?” she stuttered “Of c-course not!”

She frowned at him. Her lips were so swollen that the pout she was giving him was almost comical. Her face was still red, too, and her chubby cheeks glowed scarlet.  He couldn’t stop from laughing after noticing her hair, which was a tangled mess. Thanks to his hands.

_She looked adorable._

“Why are you laughing?” she whined

“Oh, nothing,” He replied, resisting the urge to lower himself to her, again.

She glared at him, unbelieving, before shrugging it off and leaning her head on her chest. He wrapped his arms around her frame with a content smile.

He still couldn’t believe that he had kissed her. Again.

If he had any remaining doubt clouding his vision, he was pretty sure that cleared it up.

he liked _her._

“Princess?” He asked, suddenly.

“Hmm?” She responded

“Was that time an accident?”

She was quiet for a second before speaking.

“No,” she confessed “No, it wasn’t.”

“Pawsome.” He heard her groan at the pun and smiled.

He had to admit, as he held her small body against his, it felt nice to have someone actually return his feelings.

Adrien knew that there would probably be consequences for this, but he ignored the thought and pulled Marinette closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayy lmao


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments/kudos/bookmarks/etc.!!~

Marinette had tried so hard to resist when Chat Noir visited the night before.

Tried and failed.

When she saw him through the window of her trap door, she was dead set on not giving into him too.

She had already decided that she was not about to be someone’s second choice, even if it was to her alter ego.

But she was weak.                                                                      

So weak.

Because he was there, in her bedroom, in the middle of the night due his confused about her, because he wanted _her._

Not Ladybug.

So she let her resolve fade away and let him kiss her, again.

And again.

Also maybe a few more times before he left.

She ended the night with the conclusion that maybe liking him wasn’t a bad idea.

He may have been a flirt, but he was also a damn good kisser.

Needless to say, she slept well, welcoming those ‘sexy Chat dreams™’ with open arms.

Something she thought she would never do.

“Marinette!”

The girl in question almost fell out of her desk chair at the unexpected voice. She regained her balance and spun around, squinting her eyes at the intruder who was standing behind her “Could you knock, occasionally?”

“Nope.” Alya smirked before taking in her friend’s attire “Why aren’t you ready?”

“Uh?” Marinette looked down at her sleep clothes then gave Alya a look of puzzlement, asking “For what?”

“Did you really forget?” She put her hands on her hips and gave the other girl a pointed look.

‘ _seeing as I have been otherwise occupied’_ Marinette considered then voiced “Yes?”

“Of course you did.” She shook her head “The movies? With Adrien and Nino?”

Marinette blinked blankly before letting out a gasp and putting her hand to her mouth.

Oh no.

It was Saturday.

She was too busy making out with Chat Noir the night before to remember that Alya had set up to hang out with Nino and _Adrien._

This was bad.

“Remember now?” Alya asked, waving a hand in front of her face to get her attention.

“Oh no oh no oh no” Marinette squeaked and jumped up from her computer Chair, cupping her her cheeks with her hands. She paused and looked at Alya, wide eyed “I can’t go!”

“What? No, you’re not getting out of this.”

“But- “ Marinette paused, trying to come up with and excuse before faking a cough “I’m sick!”

“Mari”

“I am!”

“I’m not about to let you flake on a date with Adrien.” Alya commanded, crossing her arms and looking pointedly at the bluenette. 

“Wait, a date?!” Marinette shrieked “I thought we were just hanging out. . . like friends!” she coughed a few more times before continuing “Now I really can’t go!”

“You’re going”

"Oh I'm so weak." 

Marinette put the back of her hand to her forehead and fell back onto the desk chair in a weak attempt to appear dizzy.

"Stop this." Alya deadpanned

“But-“

“Girl, get ready.”

There was no getting out of this.

“ugh fine.” Marinette grumbled and stomped over to the pink vanity in the corner of her room.

Looking in the mirror, she almost laughed at her appearance.

The lack of bags under her eyes were definitely a relief, but everything else about her appearance was a mess. Her hair stuck out in all directions, her face was puffy, and there were pillow creases on the entire left side of it.

Yeah, she slept _really_ well.

Letting out a determined breath, she grabbed her brush to conquered her hair. It was a losing battle, though, because even after several attempts, her hair still resembled a fur ball.

Of course, she had to get the untamable Asian hair gene.

' _Thanks, mom_.’ She sighed before looking at Alya through the mirror, who was now relaxing on the chaise lounge and typing away on her phone. “Do I have time to shower?”

“No can do, Porcupine.” Alya glanced up from her phone “We’re already running late because of you.”

“Great.” Marinette muttered, glaring at herself in the mirror.

She thought for a minute before nodding, grabbing a hair tie, and pulling her messy hair into a bun. 

Marinette turned her head to the side in order to inspect the bun when she noticed a dark mark on her neck.  Her forehead creased and she raised her finger up to poke it, wincing when the contact brought a slight ache.

_‘A bruise?’_

“When di-“ She leaned closer to the mirror to inspect the bruise before her eyes widened in realization, it was in the same place that-oh no, she squealed “shit!”

_‘He didn’t!’_

Alya jumped, nearly dropping her phone, at the sudden sound. She looked over at the other girl in confusion. “What is it?”

“W-what? Oh nothing!” Marinette stammered and cupped her hand to her neck to hide the mark.

She needed to cover it asap.

‘ _Think, Marinette._ ’

Her eyes swept the room before they landed on a red scarf that hung on the mannequin beside the chaise.

Thank God.

“Are you sure it’s nothing?” Alya stood up and began walking towards the other girl

“Oh, I uh nearly forgot that I made a new scarf!” She side stepped around a very puzzled redhead and stumbled over to the mannequin.

“Uh okay?”

“I just really wanted to wear it today,” She laughed nervously and grabbed the scarf, her savior, “a-and I can’t believe I almost forgot!” 

Marinette quickly wrapped the scarf around her neck and breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay,I’m ready!”

“Not that I’m judging,” Alya raised a brow “but are you planning on wearing actual clothes with that scarf?”

Marinette looked down. She was still in her sleep clothes. Except now, she was in her sleep clothes and a scarf.

It was a great look for a date.

“wha-I-You-Of course I am!” She stuttered “Don’t be silly, Alya!” before backing up towards her bedroom door, grabbing a top and leggings on the way, and adding “I’m going to go do that now alsoIhavetogotothebathroomtoookaybye!”

Marinette quickly escaped and ran down the hallway to the bathroom.

She shut the door and went over to the mirror, pulling the scarf off in order to observe her neck. Poking at the place, again, and frowned.  

She had a hickey.

Chat fucking Noir gave her a hickey.

“I’m going to kill that cat.” She murmured to herself in the mirror. "All nine lives, I swear."

Marinette groaned.

She knew shouldn’t have given in to anything past kissing, but she hadn’t been able to think straight, due to the circumstances of the moment.

Besides, it did kind of feel good when his warm lips sucked on the skin of her neck so how was she supposed to just make him stop? And honestly, the feeling made her feel weak just thinking about it.

_‘Okay, so maybe it felt great.’_

She shivered and absently rubbed the bruise with her fingers, while getting lost in last night’s _events_ for what felt like the millionth time. The corners of her mouth turned up and she sighed, happily.

Wait, she was supposed to be mad at him.

_‘Stupid Chat’_ she complained _‘Why does he have to be a good kisser’_  

She was jolted out of her inner turmoil when there was a loud banging on the door followed by a “Marinette!”

“Yes?” she called out, quickly changing her clothes.

“Nino just texted me.” Alya replied through the door “They’re waiting for us. We have to go!”

“Just a second!”

Marinette took one last look in the mirror, putting the scarf back around her neck and strategically positioning it so that the red material covered the hickey. 

She opened the door as Alya was about to knock again, put on a brave face, and smiled “Let’s go.”

 

* * *

 

 

The second that Marinette saw Adrien (and Nino) waiting outside of the entrance of the theater, she felt the huge urge to run away and hide under the safe blankets of her bed.

Because here she was, going on a date with the love of her life, yet she had made out with another guy, who she also had feelings for, less than 24 hours ago.

She felt a brief pang of guilt in her stomach and she wasn’t sure whether it was due to her betraying Adrien or Chat Noir.

Probably both.

She was considering an escape route when Adrien, looking as perfect as ever, noticed the two girls and waved.

Marinette to stopped in her tracks “I can’t do this.”

“Mari, seriously?”

“Please don’t make me do this” she pleaded, turning to the other girl.

“It’s for your own good.” Alya replied, grabbed Marinette’s arm, and dragged her behind her “You’ll thank me later.”

_‘I doubt it.’_ Marinette sighed, but allowed herself to be pulled along.

She was silently wishing for an akuma attack when her phone let out a ‘ding.’

Using her free hand, she reached in her purse and grabbed it. The screen lit up ‘one new message: My Handsome Knight ;).’

‘ _What_?’ She scoffed at the name and opened the message.

**- > Princess <3**

_‘How did he-?_ ’ Marinette wondered, confused, before attempting to reply with one hand.

-> Not sure how we have each others numbers, but idk any handsome knights

-> You must have the wrong number, sorry

She cursed inwardly and frowned at her phone because, of course, Chat Noir would suddenly have her number and, of course, he would suddenly decide to text her _right now._

“Took long enough”

Marinette looked up from her phone at the sound of Nino’s voice, not realizing that they were now standing in front of the two boys.

Great, she was hoping she had a few more seconds to escape.

“Sorry,” Alya apologized and gestured to the other girl “Marinette here is incapable of being on time.”

“am not” she grumbled as her phone vibrated.

She looked down the see her message when Adrien spoke up.

“It’s fine, we weren’t waiting that long.” he answered and gave the bluenette a shy smile “Hey Marinette.”

Marinette paused, finger mid swipe to unlock the phone, and her surprised eyes glanced up into his.   

“Adrien-hey-h-hi” she flushed and cleared her throat “Hi Adrien.”

“Alya said you were feeling sick” He put a hand on her shoulder “I’m glad you came”

“Me-me too.” she stuttered and stared into those emerald eyes.

She was so screwed.

“So what are we watching?” Nino piped up, causing Marinette to break out of her trance, quickly averting her eyes back to her phone screen, unlocking it.

**- >How could you forget about me and what we shared?**

**- >What a knightmare! **

-> It was only a one knight stand :-/

**- > Did you just?**

**- >Princess, I’m shocked.**

She let out a laugh, smiling at the screen.

“What do you think, Marinette?”

 Marinette raised her head up from her phone and blinked, blankly at the group, who were all staring at her, expectantly. She slowly slipped her phone back into her purse.

“Uh about what?”

“If you paid attention to us and not whatever is making you giggle on your phone” Alya raised an eyebrow “You would know.”

“Sorry, it’s-” she paused “my mom.”

Right, because her mom made her giggle.

What a terrible excuse.

Now they were all probably judging her.

She could have sworn Adrien was holding back a laugh, too.

Where was that akuma attack when she needed it?

“Well tell your mom that you're busy,” Alya ordered before continuing “We’re going to see that new zombie movie.”

“Zombie?” Marinette asked, brows narrowing, before muttering “Alya, you know I hate scary movies.”

“Oh, that’s right!” Alya hit her forehead with her palm and apologized “I completely forgot, sorry, girl”

Marinette gave Alya a dirty look “No, you didn’t”

“We’ll go see something else then” Adrien suggested “I heard that superhero movie was good”

“Bro, but I heard that zombie movie was so lit, though. Oh well.” Nino shrugged and Marinette didn’t fail to see the small smile he sent towards Alya.

Those traitors were planning something.

Alya let out a long sigh “I _really_ wanted to see it too.”

“I have an idea!” Nino suggested “Adrien you can go see that superhero movie with Marinette and I’ll go with Alya to see that scary movie”

"Good idea, Nino!" Alya beamed and winked at Marinette, who's eyes widened before glaring at her and Nino.

She made sure to add them to the growing list of people she was killing.

“Yeah! Tha-“ Adrien started

“Actually I changed my mind” Marinette interrupted and frowned at Alya “I actually love scary movies!”

She was not going to let them win.

“Are you sure?” Alya asked, raising a brow “I heard it was super scary.”

“Positive” Marinette’s eye twitched and she gave her an overly sweet smile before turning and walking towards the ticket booth.

She was going to regret this, she knew it.

As they stood in line, she took her phone back out to check it real quick.

‘One new message: Your Handsome knight ;)’

**- > Red looks beautiful on you btw <3**

Marinette read over the text a few times and paled.

How did he know she was wearing red?

Oh, God he was here.

She squeaked in realization and scanned the area for any sign of black cat ears.

“Hey Marinette?” Adrien questioned, coming up beside her.

“Y-yes?” She replied, clutching her phone, tightly and giving up her search to look at him.

“If you really don’t want to see that scary movie,” He explained “I’m fine with seeing something else”

She smiled at sincerity, but she was not about to be alone with him no thank you “I’m okay, promise.”

“Let me know if you change your mind.”

“I will.”

They stood in awkward silence for a moment.

Marinette glanced behind her, nervously, and Alya gave her a thumbs up. She drew her brows together at the gesture, but her friend laughed and returned to her conversation with Nino.

“So,” Adrien broke the silence causing her to turn back towards him “Having a good weekend so far?”

Out of all of the small talk, he had to ask _that_ question.

_'definitely, just last night I made out with a superhero in my room and now i'm on a date with you'_

“Oh, it’s okay,” Marinette laughed hesitantly, her hands absently raised to touch her neck, making sure it was still covered “Just d-doing a bunch of. . . homework and absolutely nothing e-else. H-how about you?”

“My weekend has been great.” He smiled

“t-that’s great! Just like your weekend, and you” Marinette stuttered “I mean you’re great! Wait no- I mean it’s great that your weekend was great like you uh-!”

_‘Seriously, Marinette?’_

“Uh thanks” Adrien raised an eyebrow “I think?”

“Y-yeah no problem”

 

* * *

 

 

Marinette screamed internally.

She could fight akumas, no problem, but when it came to scary movies, that was a whole different battle.

Scary movies terrified her, which is why she never should have agreed to seeing one.

And It took exactly one jump scare for her to realize her mistake.

It wasn’t even ten minutes into the movie when a zombie popped up, suddenly, on the screen, causing her to let out a yelp and cling around the arm of person to her left, hiding her face and squeezing her eyes shut.

She could have sworn, in her fit of terror, that it was Alya.

But after a good minute, she remembered Alya was sitting on her right, not left.

So she reluctantly opened an eye and glanced behind her at the person on her other side

‘ _please be wrong please be wrong’_

Of course, Alya sat there, staring intently at the screen, which meant, she slowly looked up and found herself staring into a pair of surprised, green eyes, illuminated by the movie screen.

She felt her face heat up and realized her face was only inches away from his, but she was suddenly too shocked to move.

“A-are you okay?” Adrien whispered before she nodded, because she couldn’t find any words to say.

Marinette bit her lip and noticed that his eyes flicked to her mouth at the movement before returning to her gaze.

She wasn’t sure if he was moving in or if it was due to her, but the distance between them began to shrink.

Her heart pounded against her chest and she begged herself not to do it, it would make everything more complicated, but the pull was too strong.

They were literally centimeters apart when a loud scream from the movie broke them apart.

Marinette jumped back and stared at him with round eyes.

"sorry." she heard Adrien whisper.

she just shook her head.

Did they almost?

Subconsciously, she felt a pang of. . . guilt and another pair of green eyes flashed across her thoughts.

God, she was a terrible person. 

“I-I have to go to the bathroom” She whispered, springing up from the chair, and shuffling past Alya and Nino. She all but ran out of the auditorium before Adrien had a chance to react.

She burst through the door into the brightly lit lobby of the theater, finding a wall to lean against as she tried to slow her heart.

She almost kissed Adrien.

Adrien almost kissed her.

And she ran away.

Why was this happening now? Why couldn’t he have done that three years ago? Or even two weeks ago?

She should have been thrilled with it, the love of her life tried to kiss her, that should have ended all of her problems.

She should have just leaned back up and kissed him, it was that simple, but thanks to a goddamn cat, she couldn't do it. 

Because she couldn't betray him too.

How was it possible that she had feelings for two people?

She just didn’t know anymore.

“Tikki, what am I going to do?” Marinette whispered and slid down the wall to sit on the floor, pulling her knees to her chest.

The kwami glided out of Marinette’s purse at the sound of her name.

“You’re going to have to choose” she rested a small hand on her cheek “I know you’ll make the right decision in the end”

“I’m not sure that I trust myself with making decisions” Marinette sighed, laying her chin on her knees, glaring at the ugly patterns on the floor.

She finally took out her phone and quickly typed away before pressing send.

-> I know you’re here. Meet me at the entrance.


End file.
